I can finally say, after 18 long, grueling months, that I have officially finished studying for the law school admissions test, otherwise known as the LSAT. 

I began studying in January of 2022, starting slow with an hour a week before ramping it up to 15+ hours a week come the fall 2022 semester. I slaved away at my textbooks, spending over $500 between my beloved PowerScore set and approximately two months of 7Sage live lessons. I canceled plans constantly, was a hot mess during most weeks the past two semesters and continuously bothered my friends, acquaintances and even my peers here at The Pitt News with how insane I was about this test. But finally, after the many months of desperate manifestations to the law school gods and three long, brutalizing tests, I am officially done. It is not just because LSAC says you are only allowed to take three LSAT exams in one calendar year — it is because I finally hit above my goal score. My score is certainly not perfect, but it sets me up nicely for a majority of the schools I am planning on applying to this upcoming fall.

For those who are unaware, the pre-law environment is hyper-competitive. Even at the University of Pittsburgh, the small but mighty pre-law subset can get highly toxic quickly. From straight-up lying about our LSAT scores and GPAs to each other to diminishing the hard work of our peers and the schools they choose to attend, those amongst the pre-law group here at Pitt are not shielded from the ugly truths that many pre-law individuals across the country face.
I won’t pretend like I am holier than my fellow pre-law peers, as I too have participated in some very petty competition and one-upmanship, but I do try my best to cultivate an environment where the competition is healthy and where we are constantly helping each other and uplifting one another. From giving advice and helping people study for the LSAT to reading application materials, many of my friends and I actively work on this campus to create a much more welcoming pre-law community that isn’t entirely focused on law school rankings and whether or not we have higher numbers than each other.

While we can do what we can on our own campus, ultimately, what happens outside the Pitt environment is outside of our control. And truthfully, online forums are quite possibly the worst, most competitive, most artificial environment any budding student with an interest in law can find themselves in. I tell everyone younger than myself and my fellow peers — stay off of Reddit forums.

I knew when I first started studying that, as much as a 180 score — the highest score you can get on the LSAT — would have been nice, I ultimately just wanted something at or above the 90th percentile. At the risk of sounding like I am bragging, I was able to accomplish my goal during my final LSAT this past June. And while I scared my roommate by screaming upon opening the official LSAC website and calling every single person I love and care about to tell them the good news, by the next day, I was doubting everything. Despite scoring undoubtedly well and working unbelievably hard to get to where I was, I spent no more than 10 minutes on the hellsite that is Reddit and immediately felt like it wasn’t enough.

Despite the median ranges of both the LSAT and GPA being published for the whole world to see, online discourse will tell you that unless you score a 175 – 180 on the LSAT, you stand no shot of making it into law school, having a successful career or making any money. It is an unfortunate reality that where you go to law school can greatly affect your career outcomes, especially early on in your career. And many users who frequent online Reddit forms — in particular, r/lawschooladmissions — will tell you that you are ultimately screwed if you score below the 99.9th percentile.

Not only that, but seemingly every last person who has scored these exceptional scores has found a home on this Reddit forum. The truth is that there are not that many pre-law people out there in this world taking the LSAT exam. This previous June, prior to the LSAC eliminating the logic games, according to the ABA, approximately 36,000 people registered for the June exam. If every single person followed through with it — and I am sure a decent percentage did not — that would mean that only about 360 people scored in that 99th percentile range. Even fewer scored in the 99.9th. And while there are multiple cycles and people like me who took the exam multiple times, it seems almost improbable that a small, extraordinary group of people would all be on Reddit. Not only that, but these same high scorers are on the internet practically bullying the people who get a single point less than them and telling them they stand no shot of getting into Harvard, Yale, Columbia or another Top-14 (T-14) school — which are considered the best of the best to pre-law losers like me.

Admittedly, I have yet to apply to law school, and I have yet to see just how far my score and GPA will get me. However, what I do know and feel confident that I can speak about is that everyone is different. Harvard will accept a 180, sure, but according to the LSAT median range, 25% of their rising 1L students have scores below a 171. That means that it truly is more than just your LSAT score and potentially even your GPA. 

The people online on r/lawschooladmissions telling people who scored less than a 171 to not even bother applying to Harvard or any other T-14 or T-6 school will be in class and sitting next to those who scored LSAT scores they once deemed “inadequate.” And truthfully, more and more evidence is coming out that the LSAT is not a very good indicator for success in lawyering, meaning that someone with a 165 that happens to go to Harvard could be more successful and “a better lawyer” than their peers who scored 180s.

As much as your LSAT score and GPA are important, and you can certainly better your chances by getting as high as you possibly can in each, you can not definitively determine your chances at many of these schools based on your numbers alone. While Reddit and other online forums can serve as good guides — I have truthfully enjoyed using the hellsite to do research on the schools’ environment and student life — do not put too much weight on what everyone on there is saying. We all need confidence and hope when going into this next application cycle, and unfortunately, many of the Reddit law school forums will rip it all to shreds.

 Livia LaMarca is the assistant editor of the opinions desk who misses using the Oxford comma. She mostly writes about American political discourse, US pop culture and social movements. Write to her at [email protected] to share your own opinions!